Monday, April 17, 2017

The weekend that was full of HOPE... & void of a long run (totally ok with that)

My new canvas I made for the hubs for Easter for his man cave

Praise Jesus... He is Risen... Hallelujah...

Easter weekend. There is just nothing like it to me. So exciting... so full of HOPE. I just love it all.

& this weekend was so full of so many happy moments, it just was a great weekend. Busy... but great.

I made it a point to try & take lots of pictures so this is going to be picture heavy, but I'll try to keep the words down to a minimum... more of a show & tell weekend for you.

Friday kicked off with a nice Easter surprise when I came back from lunch & had an Easter basket on my desk. Isnt this the cutest flower? All the ladies in the office got one.

It was time to leave work & head to the grocery where I went with intent to get lots of green stuff....

... but also ended up going for some yummy stuff. Hey, at least its healthy yummy stuff.

Time to head to Starbucks for some fuel for the evening. It was time for an MSM Event.

& this was a special MSM event because we had planned for some of our small group girls to go out afterwards & go for some ice cream.

It was a perfect evening to do it because it was warm & we got to sit outside & chat the night away.

I had to get up early on Saturday to finish up a few things around the house & then load up my camera gear. A photo session for some senior pictures. I always say how much I love senior pictures because teens are up for anything. & this was even more exciting for me because it was an amazing young lady that I used to have in our youth ministry. She is so smart & funny & I cant wait to see what she does with her talent in life (SO MANY TALENTS!!!) I hadnt seen her in awhile & was excited to catch up & see how life had been treating her. I had to laugh because the first thing I did when I saw her was say, "YOUR BRACES ARE OFF" haha... I notice these things...

She has turned into quite the beauty. We had intended for this to be a super quick session & it ended up being a full blown 1.5 hour session with a load of pictures. I couldnt help it... she was just so perfect in front of the camera & the morning was perfect. I loved the extra time to just hear about how her senior year has been going & to hear what her college plans are. I left her with a hug & a prayer of nothing but the best. She so deserves it.

I left from here to meet up with a friend for a quick coffee date. Except it was nothing quick & I am so thrilled it wasn't. We ended up sitting in the coffee shop for nearly 3 hours chatting away on life, ideas, laughter, HOPE... & even more laughter.... My face truly hurt from laughing with this lady. She is honestly one of the most precious people I think I know in life. Her realness, her humor, her love for Jesus... she is just the most amazing person & I'm so excited that our friendship has been growing more & more.

Well, I was supposed to get in a 6 mile run but I MUCH rather trade that in for the friendship & laughter... & iced chai tea....

& then I headed home & had to hurry & get ready to head to our sweet friend's engagement party. You may have remembered I did their engagement pictures a few months back...

It was in downtown Louisville & it could NOT have been a better night to take a walk in downtown. People were every where. The weather was amazing. The sunset was gorgeous. It was just so nice.

& loved getting to celebrate these two. I cant wait for their wedding!!! She's going to be one stunning bride.

It was so fun because our friends were there with our grand buddies... & one little girl is quite the fan of her Pappy lately. She was so happy to have someone to chat with. She just kept wanting to hug him. Melt my heart. I know this picture is blurry, but these 2 never stopped...

After we left the party, we ended up getting stuck in traffic with everyone being downtown...

I actually worked on my lettering in the front seat & took some pictures as we stopped every few feet. If I had to be stuck in traffic, at least it was an entertaining trip & beautiful weather to have the windows down for fresh air.

We finally made it across the bridge & went for some dinner. I was so happy that we got some outside seating too. That's my favorite thing in the world to do on a nice night....

Sunday we woke up bright & early because I got to serve at church before the service we went too...

Easter morning....

My job? I got to take pictures. PERFECT FOR ME. I love our church has a little photo op area with the cutest little back drops & I stood there & was able to take people's phones & snap their picture for them. I got to see some of my youth kiddos & meet their whole family, got to see familiar faces, got to meet a LOT of new people... it was just the best place for me. I'm so comfortable at taking pictures of people & getting kids to look at me. Someone even told me, 'You're so good at this"... I just laughed.

But the first service I served was even more fun because one of my own small group girls was serving as well taking pictures at one photo op area while I was at the other. When it slowed down, we had to take advantage of the area ourselves.

Isnt she the cutest!!!!

The service... AMAZING!!! I literally cried twice... once at the most precious baptism I think I've ever seen... & then the message on HOPE. God has not been silent to me lately on using that word. It was just such a special message.

But I jetted out at the end of service because I got to go back & do another round of picture taking.

It was time to get home to once again turn around & leave to go over to my parent's house. They served the nicest Easter lunch for us all... including veggie burgers for me. AHHHH - they are totally feeling my vibe... even if they make fun of what veggie burgers look like. I'll still take it. & my mom's potato salad & mac & cheese will always be vegetarian approved so I was one happy girl.

We even topped off our lunch with a bundt cake that my sister in law brought. Apparently there is a new bakery in town that makes nothing but speciality bundt cakes. OH MY WORD. It was so delicious... creamy... & that icing? TO DIE FOR...

It was then time for an Easter egg hunt... & Ricky & I got to go hide some eggs. I think we had just as much fun hiding them as the kids did finding them.... which I have to say, for 12 year old girls, they need to pick up their game. We had to give clues on there most of the eggs were. If anyone needs good egg hiders, contact me or Ricky.. or even my parents - they were pretty good too.

Cochese even trying to help them find the eggs

The girls had motivation for finding eggs because hard core cash was in those babies. When they would get a little upset about finding a ONE dollar bill instead of a FIVE, or a FIVE dollar bill instead of the big prize of a TEN... we had to remind them that when we were little, we got pennies & quarters were the big prize of the egg hunt. #thegoodoledays

I just always love when our family gets to get together though. That to me is always such a big thing for Easter. The icing on the cake of celebrating such a wonderful day

... the rain finally settled in for good & after eating more left overs, it was time to head home & get some stuff done that needed to be done. Bills & laundry. No pictures of that. Don't worry.

So needless to say, this was super busy... & so full of JOY & smiles & friendship & family... & the celebration of our Risen King... this totally goes down high in the books as a wonderful weekend.

What a wonderful weekend! I bet the name of that bakery is "Nothing bundt cake"?

We went to sunrise service on Easter and as soon as it started it began to rain. We moved inside and of course by the time it was over it was beautiful out! My dad made an egg hunt for the dogs. They were pretty good at sniffing out the treats that were inside! We later had a real egg hunt for the "kadults" at my pappy's house!

What a wonderful weekend! The weather was amazing, even the rain. Saturday before Easter is always kind of a downer for me -- I always wonder what the disciples were going through that day. But Easter makes it all better. :)

Senior pictures! Goodness, that seems like ages ago for me. What a fun thing to get to capture! Oh man, there were dollar bills in eggs?? We had quarters and got super excited lol. Sounds like you had an awesome weekend!!! Your flowers you received at work are so pretty!

What a wonderful weekend you had. I love those pictures of Louisville. Especially the night time shot. Gorgeous! It's been quite a while since I've been to Louisville. Hubby and I may need to take a Saturday and come down.

That's one thing I kinda missed this year, no Easter Egg Hunts. Hopefully next year we'll get to do one with Colton.

I also love that picture with Harvey Dent. I've never met him but I just love that dog.

What a phenomenal weekend! And I so love that engagement picture - fabulous. It's really cool that your Church has a photo op area! It's been at least 15 years since I've been to Louisville but I love all the pics of downtown, especially the nighttime bridge shot. I loved a good Easter Egg hunt when I was killed but I only recall candy, no cash! LOL!

Man oh man, our grocery cart tonight needs some green. Unless broccoli casserole leftovers from Easter, which is mostly cheese, and only a little broccoli, counts as green, we are PLUM OUT at our house right now.

It looks like you had a great weekend, filled with lots of LOVE and JOY. Just the way it should be. :)

For Caleb's Easter egg hunt, we just threw them on the lawn instead of hiding them since he's two and would NOT have had any clue lol. We also just put candy in them. He was content as could be just picking them up and tossing them in his basket. So fun and cute!

Yummm that chocolate - I have to have chocolate on hand at all times. I like to eat pieces throughout the day. Your weekend looks like so much fun - you guys seriously look like you're having a blast and the weather in the photos looks gorgeous.

Sounds like a great Easter weekend! Great weather, family, and friends! I love that spring is here and it's warmer and sunnier. :) We spent the weekend in NOLA with friends. Soaking up free time, warm weather and lots and lots of food! heheh XO - Alexandra

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